Jay Cutler has already been sacked more times (25) than all but two NFL quarterbacks -- and he has already had his bye! He'll never make it through the entire season this way.

If there is anyone used to taking a beating during an NFL season, unfortunately it's Cutler. Don't forget he was sacked 52 times in 2010.

The Lions seemed to turn a corner by scoring 14 points in the first half after a season's full of slow starts on offense.

Detroit still trailed the Seattle Seahawks at halftime (17-14) and midway through the fourth quarter (24-21), requiring its third fourth-quarter comeback of the season.

The Packers' long list of injuries is piling up. They had to fight to avoid an upset at home to the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars.

There is some truth there. The loss of receiver Jordy Nelson (hamstring) hampered the Packers' offense. Injuries to tailback Cedric Benson (foot) and cornerback/safety Charles Woodson (collarbone) were also felt against the Jaguars.

The beginning of the end is here for the Vikings, who have a brutal schedule in the second half of the season.

Hard to argue at this point. The Vikings are 5-3 and have games left at Seattle and Houston, along with two games apiece against the Bears and Packers.

The Falcons finally put together a complete game in Philadelphia. They'll play that way the rest of the season.

The way the Falcons played Sunday was a very good sign that Atlanta is coming together at the right time of year. That said, almost no team is perfect and you still have to expect some ups and downs.

At 1-6, the season is over and everyone from the coaching staff to the 53rd man on the roster is truly on the hot seat.

That's completely true. Coach Ron Rivera may not be able to save his job. Whoever is running this team next season is going to watch closely to see which players continued playing hard all season.

The defense is putting up historically bad numbers and is responsible for the 2-5 record.

The defense is ridiculously bad, but the offense isn't doing its part, either. The Saints haven't had a great defense in the Sean Payton era. They've won because of offense, and they're not getting as much as they need right now.

The Broncos are legitimate contenders in the AFC after they showed they can play a complete game against New Orleans.

Not so fast. Yes, it was an impressive win and, yes, the Broncos need to start fast. But let's see them do it a few more times, before we starting looking at their long-term prominence.

The Chiefs are sure contenders for the No. 1 overall pick with a 1-6 record. Plus, they're just so uncompetitive.

Yes, the Chiefs are in the hunt for the No. 1 overall pick. They are not showing any signs that they're going to turn around their season, and it is difficult to fathom any other team playing worse than the Chiefs right now.

The Raiders are serious AFC West contenders now that they have won two straight games and are 3-4 and tied with San Diego.

Well, give Oakland credit for getting to 3-4, and the Raiders have more to be excited about than San Diego right now. But let's wait to see whether Oakland can hang in the hunt.

The Chargers are quickly falling out of the playoff race now that they have suffered three straight terrible losses to fall to 3-4.

I can't disagree. Until further notice, this team is an official mess. Nothing is going well after it blew two big leads and then followed up with a stinker at Cleveland.

The Ravens' offense struggles on the road and now Baltimore is playing a Browns defense that has limited teams to three field goals over the past six quarters. There's no margin for error with Pittsburgh sitting one game back now.

There's no denying the Ravens' offensive struggles on the road. But Cleveland is one place where Baltimore has had success away from home. The Ravens have averaged 24 points in the past four trips there, and Ray Rice gained 204 yards last year in Cleveland.

Cincinnati will get a boost in the secondary if first-round pick Dre Kirkpatrick can suit up for the first time. But that won't cover up all of the weak spots in the secondary. The Bengals' best hope at slowing down Manning is a consistent pass rush from Carlos Dunlap, Geno Atkins and Michael Johnson.

Things are finally turning the Browns' way. Cleveland has won two of its past three games and would have won two weeks ago if Josh Gordon made that touchdown catch. Beating Baltimore will send a statement that this is a team to watch.

The Browns have never had a better opportunity to beat the Ravens for the first time since 2007. Baltimore is dealing with injuries and reeling from a rout at Houston. The key is whether Trent Richardson can exploit a struggling run defense. Suddenly, this game has become very interesting.

The Steelers are finally playing like the Steelers. The running game is back with Jonathan Dwyer. The defense is swarming to the ball. It's only a matter of time before Pittsburgh moves past the Ravens to take over the top spot in the AFC North.

Hold on just a second. Remember how the Steelers fall apart on the road? Let's see what Pittsburgh does at the New York Giants before declaring the Steelers division champions in the first week of November.

We're rested and ready to show Mario Williams what he's missing. We went into the bye as the best team in the AFC. Our boys will come out of the weekend against an inferior opponent with the same status.

Hard to argue with how Texans devotees are feeling right now. Arian Foster and the run game should have a field day against a terrible run defense.

Playoffs, baby. Look at the way things are coming together. We won't win the Super Bowl, but we may need to throw a parade when this is over anyway, to celebrate the job Ryan Grigson, Chuck Pagano, Bruce Arians and everyone has done in Year 1.

Things are moving in a very nice direction, but the progress isn't always going to be forward. The Colts could further establish themselves as a contender against the Dolphins. And they could just as easily fall back to .500.

This team has no clue how to make clutch plays or how to finish. Even when it plays "well," it loses. It's painful. Please end it.

You've seen four consecutive losses. So accept a bit of a moral victory. The Jags weren't far away from a win in Green Bay, or in Oakland a week earlier. If they could just get things to click by making a couple of more plays in the big moments

That was a knock-out game. Get to .500 there and we'd have had a chance. But this team can't win six of its last eight to get to 9-7, and there is no certainty that 9-7 would get us in the playoffs. Fire both coordinators. Play Jared Cook more. Do something drastic.

No matter the Titans' current record, this is not a playoff team given its defensive deficiencies. They need to get Jake Locker healthy, get him more experience and keep building. What drastic measure now makes anything better?

SPONSORED HEADLINES

Comments

You must be signed in to post a comment

Need an account?

Already have an account?

You are fully responsible for the content you post. Content that includes profanity, personal attacks or antisocial behavior (such as "spamming" or "trolling"), or other inappropriate content or material will be removed. We reserve the right to block any user who violates our terms of use, including removing all content posted by that user.